Day 64: Waiting Room/Lobby 1 (Third Shift)

[dividedby]

The idea that a friend from home would be coming to visit him today was something that had never crossed Zero's mind before now. For one thing, everyone he knew was definitely in another world as far as he was concerned, and he'd long since accepted that he'd probably never see his home or his friends again. (Or at least, not for awhile.) A familiar face suddenly showing up out of the blue was highly unlikely, if not downright impossible, to him. For another, he'd never heard of this 'visitor time' before to begin with, so how could he expect it to happen? No prisoner had ever told him that sometimes recognizable people might show up at the Institute on a certain day of the week to completely shatter one's understanding of this place and the way it worked.

(...Although. Knowing how Landel loved to screw with people's heads, it probably wasn't such a shocking idea. But still.)

So when the time to change shifts came and Zero was suddenly taken away from the other patients by his nurse, being led to a room he'd never been in before while being told in that damned cheery voice that Someone's coming to see you today! Aren't you excited?, the once-Reploid felt tense and confused by the whole thing. And understandably so. Who in the world could be coming to visit him? Why in the world would someone be visiting him? And how, if this really turned out to be someone he knew?

Moreover, would Landel really allow someone from his home world to just waltz right into this place without holding them hostage, too? That seemed kind of strange for a guy who got a laugh out of torturing people on a daily basis. Then again, said familiar face was probably brainwashed like everyone else. No harm done in that case...

...Well. Whoever it was that was supposed to be meeting him (brainwashed or not), they weren't present when Zero arrived at the designated waiting room. His nurse wasn't fazed by this, though, and she gave her patient an encouraging nudge toward some chairs. "They'll be here shortly," she said, as if trying to reassure him. (Was she seriously expecting him to be thrilled about this?) "Why don't you take a seat while you wait, Mr. Suzuki?"

Zero stood perfectly still and frowned at her. "No."

"Oh, this is not the time for one of your moods. Please sit down."

"I refuse."

"Mr. Suzuki--!"

He was defiant. There was no way he was going to sit while feeling so uneasy, especially if his nurse was going to complain about it. Why should he give this obnoxious woman any breaks, anyway? If he didn't stick up for himself like a stubborn old man, then she wouldn't stop bothering him. And the less she bothered him, the better.

Thankfully, she wasn't in the mood to press him about this. She opened her mouth as if to go off on another one of her scolding sprees, but then decided against it and shook her head. "Suit yourself," she sighed, then turned and walked out of the room, leaving him alone. (Finally.) Now he could wait anxiously in peace, without that bothersome woman pestering him every second. He moved off to one side of the room but stayed standing, subconsciously clenching his fists out of habit, watching other people (prisoners, nurses, outsiders) enter the room. No one he recognized yet.

He kind of hoped no one would show for him.

Comments

[damned_visitors]

Celia stepped back.

Just

one

step.

She should have felt relieved; perhaps happy at the thought of his asking questions. This was progress, right? He was starting to try to look at something beyond the fantasies, beyond the images that he had conjured up in his mind. Maybe he was trying to see Yuudai Suzuki, the man, rather than...whoever he had thought he had become.

Maybe he was trying to make sense of his muddled memory, and really try to see her through the delusion he'd conjured up for himself.

And perhaps she did, a little.

But with that tone, that cadence, it was hard for her not to remember where she was and who she was talking to:

She was in an insane asylum, speaking with a man who had attacked a man who saw him as his own son without provocation. He...

No. That might not even have been him; that could have just been his...his illness getting to him. You came to speak to him and you're going to do it.

And he got the letter. He remembered the letter.

"...Allegheny General Hospital." she murmured. "Allegheny County, Pennsylvania."

More. She needed to tell him more.

"You were unconscious there for about a year. I-It was a miracle you'd woken up, really. Someone must have really been watching over you that day."

[dividedby]

Allegheny County, Pennsylvania. Where was that? Only the last word had a hint of familiarity to it, and only for the possibility that it might have been something he'd heard of in the past. Not a place he'd visited personally, just a place that had existed. But as there was nothing but Neo Arcadia in the present (or, the present day in his world), it was hard to say whether that hunch was true or not...

...Still. Whether 'Pennsylvania' was a real place or not, it didn't change the fact that Zero had never been checked into a hospital there. For an entire year, much less.

"You're wrong," the once-Reploid said firmly, subconsciously taking a step forward to make up for Ciel's own step back. "I was never there. Don't you remember anything, Ciel? I..."

He stopped short. It was about that time that he finally noticed Ciel's expression, her hesitation. The way she'd just stepped away from him...

...No. This wasn't the way to do this. To Ciel, of all people...even an image of her... Zero's willingness to continue being harsh faded quickly, along with his sharp stare. If this was really her, then this couldn't be her fault. He refused to believe that she'd lie to him without good reason. There had to be something else...

A slow sigh escaped Zero's lips, and he briefly closed his eyes. "...What else happened."